Railroad crossing and frog



April 24, 1934. E. w. sooDAiRE ET AL RAILROAD CROSSING AND FROG Filed Jul 5, 1932 N l EN TU R5 fowl/v I4. 6000/! ms GEORGE A RNOL 0.

Patented Apr. 24, 1934 UN 151D.

ES PATENT OF F lfCEi RAILROAD CROSSING AND FROGv Application July, 5, 1932, Serial No. 620,832

3 Claims. (01. 246-460) casting A and an insert B. The casting A usually formed of manganese steel, includesa mainbase or bed portion 10 from which extend in the de sired angular relationship, the connecting arms Thisinvention-relates to railway, track con-. struction andespeciallyto crossings, frogs, and similar: track. structures.

The object of the invention is to provide in. a railway crossing, frog, or similar track structure at the point: thereof subject tothe-greatest wear, aninsert formed of-aspecial hardenedsteel alloyand permanentlyv incorporatedinthe struca ture.

A furtherobject is to provide a. railway cross.- ing; frog, or similar track structurehav-ing an insert incorporated therein, as specified above, wherein theinsert andthe. portion of the structure receiving the.- same are-so constructed that, the insert will beheld effectively against. a tendency to-rotatebecause of wheel impacts, will not. rocker; wabble as wheelswpass.thereover, and will be securelymounted in the structureagainst displacement in any direction.

A still further object is to provide a railway crossing, frog, or similar track structure having an-inser-t, asspecif ed,hereinabove, so constructed that it may be readily, economically, and: aocu: rately formed by a combination of forging, mashining, and/or grindingv operations.

Further andadditional: objectsand advantages residing in the invention, will become more apparent hereinafter during the following detailed description of an embodiment, of the invention which, is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a. topplan view of a one quarter railroad crossing embodying. the present invention, the crossing being shown connected tocertain of the ordinary track rails.

Fig. 2 is a, topplan view similar to, Fig. 1v with the insert and track rails omitted. H Figs. 3-, land 5 are sectional views taken substantially on l ine s,3T3., d-reand 5T5, respectively, of Fig. 1, looking. in, the direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic View of a crossing showing, how the one quarter, crossings. of Fig. 1 are used.

The present invention contemplates the provision of means in a railroad crossing, frog, or similar'trackstructure. that will obviate the chief difficulty heretofore found to exist in such structures, namely the breaking down and wearing away 0;" the structure at the intersection of the flangeways because of the severe blowsv imparted thereto at such point by the wheels ofthe cars.

The one quarter crossing illustrated in the accompanying drawing and constituting an embodimen of the nve o o prise an t a intersecting traclzs four of the castings A. willbe, employed as indicated in Fig. 6.

The connecting arms 11 include heads 12 and guards 13 between which are arranged the, grooves, or fiangeways 14 for the wheelfianges. The connecting arms 11 connect each casting of. the crossing to the track rails andto the other castings. The construction just referred to is conventional and need not be set forth in greater detail. r The base or bed portion 10 of thecasting A is providedat its upper side with a recess or chamber 15. (see Fig. 2) Preferably, but not necesw sarily, circular in shape to facilitate grinding and/or machining thesurfaces thereof, thebot; tom wall l6 of said chamber having formedcentrally therein a non-circular opening l7 (show n n hi n ta c e ua n thwar 12 end of which is somewhat larger than the lower end to provide a shoulder or ledge, 18. 'I'he'sid e wall of the recess or chamber 1 5 isprovided with an, nnular nd r u iag nal re ss 1 n with a plurality of recesses or grooves 20 tom: municating therewith and ertendingupwardly to the top edge of the casting, such recess or groove 19 being connected to the shoulder 13 by means of recesses or grooves 21 formed in the bottom wall 16 of the chamber 15. The walls of-the chamber, particularly the bottom wall thereof, and the walls of the opening 17 with its shoulder 1 8 are machined and/or groundto enable the insert, now to be described, to snugly fit therein and be free of any tendency to wabble orrock. i As previously stated, it is proposed to'employ with the casting A an insert B constituting the intersection of the flangeways of the crossing and formed of a special forged alloy steel heat treated to a definite predetermined hardness to with: stand the blows of the wheels. The insert will be of the same general configuration as the chamber 17 and will have a snug fit therein rather than a driving fit, the insert being machined and/or ground and resting at its inner end on the ground surface 16. The inner end of the insert is provided with a non-circular portion 22 corresponding in shape to the opening 17 in the bottom wall of the chamber 15 and fitting therein to positively maintain the insert against rota tion in the chamber.

11. It will be understood that, for each pair of The insert is also provided with an annular recess 23 arranged to cooperate with the recess 19 when the insert B is tted in the chamber to form an annular channel for a purpose later to be referred to. The upper surface of the insert will have formed therein intersecting grooves or flangeways 24 aligning with the grooves or flangeways 14 in the casting A.

The insert B is positioned in the chamber 15 of the casting A with the non-circular portion 22 thereof extending into the opening 17 in the bottom wall of the chamber, the upper surface of the insert being flush with the heads 12 and guards 13 of the casting A, while the grooves or flangeways 24 connect the grooves or flangeways 14.

In order to securely and permanently fasten the insert B in the chamber of the casting A suitable spelter, indicated in Figs. 3 and 4 at 25, is poured in the molten state into the upper ends of the recesses or grooves 20 so that it will flow into and fill the annular channel formed by the recesses or grooves 19 and 23 and will further flow through the recesses or grooves 21 and fill the space between the insert B, the shoulder or ledge 18 and the wall of the opening 17 in the casting A. In order to permit the escape of air and gases trapped in the recesses or grooves by the incoming spelter one or more suitable vents to the atmosphere are provided, as indicated at 26 in Fig. 3. When the spelter, filling the annular channel formed by the recesses or grooves 19 and 23, the space between the insert and shoulder 18 and the grooves or recesses 20 and 21, hardens it will be noted that the insert will be securely locked or keyed in the casting and will, in effect, he a permanent part of the crossing structure, especially since the grooves 19 and 23 are so arranged that the hardened spelter will form a diagonal key which must be compressed and sheared before the insert can be removed from the chamber.

In crossings, frogs, and similar track structures, the points thereof subject to the greatest wear lie at the intersection of the flangeways for the wheel flanges with the result that at such points they rapidly wear away and render the entire structures unfit for use although the remainder thereof may not be materially worn. However, such worn crossings, frogs, or similar track structures must be replaced and the cost of track maintenance is therefore considered high.

It will be seen that the present invention enables the major portion of the crossing, frog, or other track structure to be a casting formed of a material that is sufficiently wear resisting for the purposes required and which is not prohibitive in price, such as manganese steel, while the portion of the structure including the intersection of the flangeways can be a forging formed of a special steel alloy heat treated to a predetermined hardness, such that because of its density it will have maximum impact resisting characteristics and will stand up in use at least as long as the major portion of the structure. The original cost of a structure thus constructed will compare favorably with the cost of the ordinarily formed similar structure with the advantage that its life willgreatly exceed the older forms of structures.

Since the chamber in the casting and the insert have their surfaces machined and/or ground, the insert will possess stability and will not rock or wabble in use, while the non-circular inner end of the insert fitting within the non-circular opening in the bottom of the chamber in the casting will positively maintain the insert against rotative movement. The insert will be permanently incorporated into the structure by the spelter heretofore referred to.

The wheels of railway cars develop in use what is generally known as a false flange adjacent the edge of their periphery opposite to the 1egu' lar flange, that is, the peripheral portion of the wheels in contact with the rail heads develops an annular groove or depression due to wear, while the peripheral portion adjacent the outer side of the wheels does not wear because it is not in contact with the rail heads. This false flange exerts a substantial wearing effect upon crossings, frogs, or other track structures, especially at the intersection of the flangeways of the structures. The present invention possesses the advantage of substantially reducing or practically eliminating the forming of depressions at the intersection of the fiangeways as are now occasioned by the false flange of wheels passing over the crossings, frogs, or other similar track structures.

It will be understood that, although the casting forming the quarter crossing has been illustrated as having its arms arranged at right angles with respect to each other, such angular arrangement is often varied, depending upon the angle of the crossing and that there is no intention to limit the present invention to a right angle crossing.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described herein, it should be understood that the invention is susceptible of various modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention we claim:

1. A railway crossing frog or similar track structure, comprising a casting having an up wardly facing circular chamber therein at the intersection of the flangeways of the structure, said chamber having ground and/or machined side and bottom walls and being provided at its bottom with a non-circular downwardly extending opening, an insert of denser and harder metal than said casting interfitting said chamber and having ground and/or machined surfaces di rectly engaging the walls thereof and being provided with a non-circular portion fitting the said non-circular opening with a metal to metal contact to maintain said casting and insert against relative rotation, and means securing said insert in said chamber.

2. A railway crossing frog or similar track structure, comprising a casting having an upwardly facing chamber therein at the intersection of the flangeways of the structure, said chamber having ground and/or machined side and bottom walls and being provided in its side wall with a perimetrical undercut groove and in its bottom wall with a non-circular downwardly extending opening, an insert of denser and harder metal than said casting interfitting said chamber and having ground and/or machined surfaces directly engaging the walls thereof and being provided with a peripheral undercut groove and with a non-circular portion accurately fitting the said non-circular opening, said grooves cooperating to form a substantially continuous passageway surrounding the insert and diagonally intersecting the line of contact between said insert and the side of said chamber, and spelter arranged in said passageway and forming a key permanently securing said insert in said chamber.

3. A railway crossing frog or similar track structure comprising a casting having an upwardly facing circular chamber therein at the intersection of the flangeways of the structure, said chamber having ground and/or machined side and bottom walls and being provided at its bottom with a non-circular opening having a peripheral shoulder at its upper end, the side wall of said chamber having a perimetrical groove therein and an upwardly extending groove communicating therewith, the bottom wall of said chamber being provided with a groove communicating with said perimetrical groove and with said peripheral shoulder, an insert of denser and harder metal than said casting interfitting said chamber and having ground and/or machined surfaces directly engaging the Walls thereof and being provided with a non-circular portion accurately interfitting said non-circular opening and with a peripheral groove cooperating with the perimetrical groove in said chamber side Wall to form a passageway substantially surrounding the insert and diagonally intersecting the line of contact between said insert and the side of said chamber, and spelter arranged in all of said grooves and between said shoulder and insert and forming a key permanently securing said insert in said chamber.

EDWIN W. GOODAIRE.

GEORGE ARNOLD. 

